Posted by Sir Four at 6:08pm Jul 14 '09Wendell Potter rose through the ranks at CIGNA, reaching head of corporate communications, or top PR guy. He describes himself as being very isolated within the corporate world where the insured patients are just data points on a spreadsheet. But that one day he had an experience involving people desperate for treatments that they could not afford, and it completely changed his point of view.
The interview is a must-see. Because it's a bit long, I'll put a shorter clip from it down below.
Some interesting things he talks about are how the insurance industry helped to kill healthcare reform in the 90s--how the industry gets its talking points out and repeated by prominent politicians (and not just Republicans). Also, how health insurance is really dictated by Wall St., which demands increasing profit margins and punishes insurance companies who pay too many claims or fail to purge less profitable people and small businesses from their coverage (yay capitalism!). An interested point, touched on below, is that the insurance industry was worried about Michael Moore's movie Sicko turning public opinion toward a national government plan.
Again, the full interview should be watched.. but here is the shorter clip:
The interview is a must-see. Because it's a bit long, I'll put a shorter clip from it down below.
Some interesting things he talks about are how the insurance industry helped to kill healthcare reform in the 90s--how the industry gets its talking points out and repeated by prominent politicians (and not just Republicans). Also, how health insurance is really dictated by Wall St., which demands increasing profit margins and punishes insurance companies who pay too many claims or fail to purge less profitable people and small businesses from their coverage (yay capitalism!). An interested point, touched on below, is that the insurance industry was worried about Michael Moore's movie Sicko turning public opinion toward a national government plan.
Again, the full interview should be watched.. but here is the shorter clip:
Link: full interview
Former Exec Dishes the Dirt on Health Ins. Co.s - Sir Four